


Coffee Candy

by cyanspade



Category: Kissed By the Baddest Bidder, Voltage Inc - Fandom, Voltage Inc. - All Media Types, スイートルームで悪戯なキス | Kissed By the Baddest Bidder
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Childhood Friends, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 17:28:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9196124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyanspade/pseuds/cyanspade
Summary: He owed her a lifelong debt. Little did she know that it all started with a piece of candy.





	

* * *

I.

Eight years old.

               She had no idea how they became friends. 

               She supposed it all started one day at school, when the teacher had been giving out candy as a reward for finishing the class play.  Luckily for her, she got a piece of coffee candy, her most favorite one. __

              Unwrapping the little treat, she was about to gobble up the sweet until she noticed someone sulking at the back of the classroom. She could feel the waves of Eisuke’s sullen mood from where she stood. The arrogant little heir was too pigheaded to participate in ‘stupid group activities’ like the class play, so he was the only one who didn’t get any candy.

              “Uh, hey. Here, you can have mine,” she held up the almost-unwrapped sweet to him. 

              “Hmph. I don’t need it, you know,” he looked at her tentatively before eyeing the candy. 

              “This is the best flavor!” she excitedly told him. “You should have some,” With her friendly coaxing, she could see his childish resolve slowly falter.

              “Fine. Whatever. I’m only doing this because you won’t leave me alone, okay?” 

              Popping the candy into his mouth, his whole expression slowly brightened into a face she had never seen before. The boy was usually scowling or smirking, so seeing him _smile_ for a change took her aback.

               When she went to school the next day, she found a note on her desk, and she immediately recognized the distinct handwriting:

                _I owe you._

               That little piece of coffee candy started it all.

II.

Ten years old.

               “It’s getting late now, Ichinomiya. I gotta go home soon,” she stared worriedly at the clock. It was the third time that week she stayed past curfew. He always made her leave way too late.

               “Didn’t I tell you to call me ‘Eisuke’? Do I really have to keep telling you that?” he told her exasperatedly. 

               “Okay, okay, Eisuke. But I really have to go now. Mom’s gonna get mad if I go home late again,” she reminded him.

               “One last game of Monopoly. If you win, you can go home,” Eisuke quickly changed the subject. 

              At times like these, he loathed his own powerlessness. The only kingdom he had was his own room, and outside of his walled fortress, he was powerless to the adults’ so-called authority. He had to do everything in his power to keep her within his kingdom, lest she be out of his reach. 

              He didn’t like the reality that she had to leave every time she came over.

              “Aw, but you always win Monopoly. At this rate I won’t be able to go home.”

              “…Then don’t,” he whispered to himself almost inaudibly.

_You don’t have to leave._

III.

Twelve years old.

               Eisuke ran around the school halls looking for her. It was already past school hours, so where the heck was she? They were supposed to meet up by the gate at exactly 3pm, but she never showed up. _Twenty minutes late…_

               He finally found her in one of the empty classrooms, seemingly occupied. She was busy decorating a banner that would probably take hours to complete. 

               “Ah, sorry I didn’t show up earlier, Eisuke. I still have to finish this. You can go ahead of me, it’s fine,” she sheepishly answered his questioning glare.

               “Did they dump this work on you again?” he questioned. It wasn’t the first time her classmates dropped all the unwanted jobs onto her. She was too kind to say no to them, even if it meant getting in the way of her free time.

               “…Well, if I don’t do it, who will?” she defiantly continued her task at hand. He deduced that even if he convinced her to stop, she’d be too stubborn to relent. 

_What a handful. But I guess it’s okay if it’s you._

               “You should stop being so nice to everyone,” he exhaled exasperatedly while reaching for a paint brush. “Pass me the green paint, will you?”

               She could only stare dumbfounded at him for a few seconds before finally breaking into a smile.  

               “Here you go, Eisuke. Thanks.”

               His only reply was a noncommittal grunt, but she swore she could’ve seen the lightest shade of pink tinge his cheeks.

               The next day at school, her classmates treated her unusually kindly. There wasn’t any occasion going on, so she wondered why everyone was strangely nice to her. It was a bit weird, to be honest.

               “So, how was class? No work dumped on you today?” he asked her as they walked home. 

               “Oh, class was okay. Too okay if you ask me. Nobody asked me to do anything for once. Weird…” she bit her lip, apparently deep in thought.

               “I’m sure you’re just overthinking it. What do you want to do later?” he said, masking his smug countenance with nonchalance.

               Seeing his self-satisfied look, she realized he _definitely_ had something to do with her classmates’ bewildering kindness that day. At her haughty friend’s hidden thoughtfulness, she felt a warm sensation grow in her heart.

               “Silly Eisuke,” she playfully punched him in the arm.

               “Hey, what was that for?!”

               “For being you.”

               “Huh?”

IV.

Fourteen years old.

               “Ah, the spaghetti here’s always so good!” she exclaimed blissfully, cheeks stuffed with pasta.

               They were both having dinner at his house. He knew she liked Italian food, so he requested that the family chef prepare it before they arrive from school. 

               “You _really_ like food, don’t you?” he said teasingly, not really paying mind to his own food, and instead watching her not-so-graceful pasta escapade.

               “Hmph, I don’t get to eat like this every day, so let me savor this!” she said while taking another huge bite.

               The dining hall was empty, save for the two of them. Surveying the area, she noticed just how oppressively vast the room was. 

               “Do you always eat dinner alone, Eisuke?” she inquired, slowly twirling her fork onto the spaghetti. 

               “So what if I do?” came the immediately defensive reply.

               Every time she’d come over to visit, she almost never saw his parents at home. In fact, she could count the number of times she saw his parents on one hand. He rarely ever talked about his family, and whenever he did, she could pick up the faint trace of hurt in his spiteful voice.

               The silence stretched for a few moments more, until she looked at him straight in the eye.

               “I’m here. I’ll always be here, so if you ever want to eat with someone, just ask me,” she said gently. The sound of her simple, yet meaningful words filled him with a warmth he thought he never knew.

                _Thank you._

               “If you say so. Just make sure you don’t stuff yourself up too much,” he replied, trying to cover his growing affection with a playful remark.

               “Eisuke!”

V.

Sixteen years old.

               Oh, man. 

              She was growing up in all the right places, and he hated the fact that he wasn’t the only one who noticed.  The girlish body he was familiar with was now replaced with a womanly one. Sadly for him, she was completely oblivious to the gazes of the male populace at her, which only fueled his angry territorial instincts into overdrive.

_God, I swear she’ll drive me insane one day…_

              “No, you’re not going out wearing _that_. It looks trashy,” he spat. In truth, she looked cute—no— _beautiful_ , even. The only problem was he was sure that there would be imbeciles ogling her creamy legs in that sundress. That wouldn’t do.

               “That was my last outfit, Eisuke!” she raised her hands in frustration. “You know, I’ll just borrow one of your shirts since you’re so picky with my clothes,” she sighed, making her way into his closet.

               “Hurry up, or we’ll be late,” he said while tapping his foot impatiently. Sigh. _Why must she always take so damn long—_

               “Okay, how do I look now? Still trashy?” she twirled around for his benefit.

               Eisuke didn’t say anything in reply. He was too busy drinking in the stunning sight of her in his old button-up shirt. Seeing her wear something _he_ owned made his already-huge ego inflate even more. The way it looked too big on her, yet fit her perfectly sent warning signals to his brain and… other regions.

               “Earth to Eisuke! So does it look fine or not?” she waved her arms dramatically in front of him, as if to remove him from his trance.

               “That’ll do. Now let’s go before we miss the movie,” he said, too embarrassed to look at her. He made a mental note to give her all of his old shirts.

               “Um, Eisuke…?” 

               “What?”

               “You have—uh – _something_ down there…” she timidly pointed at his currently growing problem.

              Damn hormones.

               “ _Shit!_ ”

VI.

Eighteen years old.

               Career surveys were pointless. He already had his goals and timetable planned for the next 20 years of his life, so why bother?      Those teachers were just wasting their time.

               He hastily filled up the survey sheet and passed it forward. Soon enough, everyone else finished and followed suit. The rustling of papers, followed by the ringing of the bell signaled all the students to empty the classroom. 

               Still, Eisuke noticed a certain someone hadn’t stood up yet.

              He could see that she was still struggling to write something— _anything_ —on her paper. She was scratching her head in frustration, and she kept vigorously erasing whatever she had written down earlier.

              “Can’t you finish that more quickly? I mean, it isn’t that hard to shade a few boxes,” he spat sarcastically.

              “I don’t want to hear that coming from _you_. Just leave me alone for a bit. I’m trying my best to think of something, so I really don’t need your sass right now,” she irritably answered him back.

_Hmph. Touchy, aren’t we?_

              “Do you really have no idea what you want to do?” he asked her passively. Unbeknownst to him, his deadpan question struck more than just a few nerves.

              She said nothing in reply and merely glowered at her paper. The future was one big question mark to her, and the fact that everyone else had their lives sorted out made her feel left out.

              Sometimes, being Eisuke’s friend felt like being a third wheel to him and his goals. She knew just how smart and talented he was, so he was definitely going to get far in life. Still, she didn’t think she’d ever be able to reach that level of accomplishment, even if it took her an entire lifetime.

              He was already nearing the finish line, while she didn’t even know how to start the race. 

               Her thoughts drifted to the question she’d been asking herself all these years—

               “…Why are we even friends?” she asked him in return. Not expecting such a strange reply, he gaped at her momentarily before answering back.

               “What the _hell_ kind of question is that?” was his stunned response.

               “No, I’m serious,” she gave up trying to write something on her survey sheet.  “Like, you’re the best at everything you do, and I’m just, well, _me_. So, I’ve always been wondering what made you want to be friends with me.”

               “You’re asking me that _now_?”

               She only looked at him expectantly, waiting for a reply.

                _Good God, she must be really dense if she hasn’t figured anything out after ten years._

               “Just finish your damn paper. I’ll meet you outside when you’re done,” he poked her square in the forehead before walking out of the room.

               “Hey, you didn’t even answer my question!”

                _Really_ , _you should know by now._

VII.

Present.

              “God, this wedding stress is killing me! I’m almost tempted to call it off,” she complained while plopping onto the couch dramatically. 

              Both of them had been painstakingly up late for the past few weeks planning their wedding. Although he insisted earlier on that he do all the planning alone, she vehemently refused. Since they were both getting married, they might as well plan it together.

              “If that was supposed to be a joke, it wasn’t funny,” Eisuke replied back dryly. He was currently juggling three different phone calls, all of which were from three different wedding planners. His patience was wearing thin, and he was a hair’s breadth away from wedding the both of them himself. 

              “We need a break. Come sit down for a bit,” she said while gesturing to the spot beside her.

              He sat next to her on the couch. She seemed to be reflecting deeply on something as she gazed at the sparkling engagement ring on her hand.  Not that he would ever tell anyone, but that ring caused him a great deal of nervousness a few months back. He honestly didn’t know what he’d do if she ever rejected his proposal—

              But his fears never came true. The shine of her left ring finger assured him that.

              “Hey, Eisuke.”

              “Hm?”

              “You still never really answered my question back then.”

              “You’ve probably asked me more than a million questions. I have no idea what you mean.”

              She gave him a dirty look that meant ‘you know what I’m talking about’. Sure enough, he knew exactly what she was referring to, but he didn’t understand why she still hadn’t let it go.

              “We’re literally going to be husband and wife in a few days, and you still want to know why we became _friends_ back then?” he emphasized.

_Seriously!? Even after all that time? Even after you accepted my proposal? Even as we plan our wedding? You still don’t know?_

              “There a problem with that, soon-to-be-husband? I’m just really curious ‘cause you never told me anything before,” she cheekily replied.

_I guess I’ll just have to show you, then._

              Reaching into his pocket, he took a piece of coffee-flavored candy and popped it into his mouth. The action was puzzling to her, as she couldn’t think of a reason why he’d be eating candy at this point in time. All her thoughts were halted when he took her face in his hands and kissed her.

              He pressed his lips onto hers, and she could feel him swirl the candy with his tongue. The coffee flavor spread slowly into her mouth, and by the time they separated, she was out of breath. She was amazed at how the man could switch from slightly irritated to incredibly passionate at the blink of an eye.

              “Now we’re even,” he smirked.

              That little piece of coffee candy ended it all.


End file.
